High Commissioner praises refugee resettlement and integration in Australia and New Zealand

High Commissioner with newly arrived refugees, Maori and former refugee leaders, dignatories and community members in Hamilton.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, February 27 (UNHCR) – The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, has praised the contributions of Australia and New Zealand to refugee protection after concluding visits to both countries during which he witnessed their settlement and integration programmes.

The High Commissioner thanked both governments for their leadership and contributions to UNHCR's global policy forums, their annual resettlement programmes and their generous financial contributions to the work of his Office.

In Hamilton, New Zealand, on Friday he watched as group of refugees – including a young woman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo – performed a traditional powhiri or greeting ceremony.

Having been separated for over a decade from her family, the woman and her brother were finally reunited with their mother and other family members through New Zealand's refugee resettlement quota programme and have now begun their new lives in Hamilton.

The ceremony, during which a family of refugees from Myanmar was also welcomed, was held at an indigenous Maori Marae meeting house, continuing a tradition of welcome by New Zealand's indigenous people to newly arrived refugees.

"This is one of the most genuine and moving reception ceremonies I have seen for refugees anywhere in the world," the High Commissioner remarked on the occasion.

The High Commissioner was also able to see some of the settlement services provided to refugees in New Zealand, and to discuss with ministers, government officials, NGOs and community groups the new government strategy to harmonize vital services such as education, training, health and housing, which is currently in development.

"This is a welcome development," Mr. Guterres said. "I congratulate the New Zealand government for taking steps toward this refugee resettlement strategy, and I look forward to seeing the outcomes when it is released in coming weeks."

The visit to New Zealand followed one to Australia where the High Commissioner discussed a range of issues affecting refugees and asylum-seekers with a broad range of stakeholders.

In Australia, the High Commissioner was able to discuss with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, ministers, government officials the deep, multi-faceted relationship UNHCR enjoys with Australia.

"This covers, among other things, Australia's role in the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers under the Refugee Convention; its generous resettlement programme; its engagement in refugee protection in the region, and its support for UNHCR's operations around the world," he said. "It is a strong relationship, and one which we value greatly."

Mr Guterres also raised UNHCR's concerns about Australia's mandatory detention of asylum seekers and the length of security assessments by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (AISO), including the need for ''checks and balances'' in the security assessment process. In relation to off-shore processing of asylum claims, he advocated for Australia to grant access to their territory for people in need of protection, no matter how they arrive.

In discussions with civil society, the High Commissioner acknowledged "the essential and meaningful work" NGOs, community and faith-based groups, as well as central and local authorities, undertake toward helping new arrivals to integrate and settle into Australian society so that they can begin productive lives.

Following these talks, Mr. Guterres delivered a speech to the Lowy Institute, an international think tank based in Sydney, outlining some of UNHCR's global challenges and discussed a number of the policy challenges facing countries like Australia.

"I am aware that the maritime movement of people in dangerous boat journeys is a problem that preoccupies many governments in this region, including your own," the High Commissioner noted. "Compared to the refugee problem in other regions of the world, the debate is out of proportion in relation to the real dimension of the issue, as the numbers of people coming to Australia are small by global standards," he concluded.

In his first visit to Australia and New Zealand since 2009, the High Commissioner said he remained impressed with the vitality and diversity of both countries, and their ongoing commitment to refugee protection.

"We are very grateful to the people of these two countries for what they have given to the hundreds of thousands of refugees who they have given a new start to over the years."

An alternative for those who cannot go home, made possible by UNHCR and governments.

Resettlement from Tunisia's Choucha Camp

Between February and October 2011, more than 1 million people crossed into Tunisia to escape conflict in Libya. Most were migrant workers who made their way home or were repatriated, but the arrivals included refugees and asylum-seekers who could not return home or live freely in Tunisia.

UNHCR has been trying to find solutions for these people, most of whom ended up in the Choucha Transit Camp near Tunisia's border with Libya. Resettlement remains the most viable solution for those registered as refugees at Choucha before a cut-off date of December 1, 2011.

As of late April, 14 countries had accepted 2,349 refugees for resettlement, 1,331 of whom have since left Tunisia. The rest are expected to leave Choucha later this year. Most have gone to Australia, Norway and the United States. But there are a more than 2,600 refugees and almost 140 asylum-seekers still in the camp. UNHCR continues to advocate with resettlement countries to find solutions for them.

Resettlement from Tunisia's Choucha Camp

Abdu finds his voice in Germany

When bombs started raining down on Aleppo, Syria, in 2012, the Khawan family had to flee. According to Ahmad, the husband of Najwa and father of their two children, the town was in ruins within 24 hours.

The family fled to Lebanon where they shared a small flat with Ahmad's two brothers and sisters and their children. Ahmad found sporadic work which kept them going, but he knew that in Lebanon his six-year-old son, Abdu, who was born deaf, would have little chance for help.

The family was accepted by Germany's Humanitarian Assistance Programme and resettled into the small central German town of Wächtersbach, near Frankfurt am Main. Nestled in a valley between two mountain ranges and a forest, the village has an idyllic feel.

A year on, Abdu has undergone cochlear implant surgery for the second time. He now sports two new hearing aids which, when worn together, allow him to hear 90 per cent. He has also joined a regular nursery class, where he is learning for the first time to speak - German in school and now Arabic at home. Ahmed is likewise studying German in a nearby village, and in two months he will graduate with a language certificate and start looking for work. He says that he is proud at how quickly Abdu is learning and integrating.

Abdu finds his voice in Germany

A Place to Call Home(Part 2): 1996 - 2003

This gallery highlights the history of UNHCR's efforts to help some of the world's most disenfranchised people to find a place called home, whether through repatriation, resettlement or local integration.

After decades of hospitality after World War II, as the global political climate changed and the number of people cared for by UNHCR swelled from around one million in 1951, to more than 27 million people in the mid-1990s, the welcome mat for refugees was largely withdrawn.

Voluntary repatriation has become both the preferred and only practical solution for today's refugees. In fact, the great majority of them choose to return to their former homes, though for those who cannot do so for various reasons, resettlement in countries like the United States and Australia, and local integration within regions where they first sought asylum, remain important options.

This gallery sees Rwandans returning home after the 1994 genocide; returnees to Kosovo receiving reintegration assistance; Guatemalans obtaining land titles in Mexico; and Afghans flocking home in 2003 after decades in exile.

A Place to Call Home(Part 2): 1996 - 2003

Jordan: Winter Camp Visit

Syrian refugees living in Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan are still trying to overcome the damage done by the storm that hit the region last week. On his second day visiting Jordan, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres visited the camp to see the impact of the damage. He was also able to hand them the key to their new home, a caravan that arrived part of a convoy to help those living in tents at the camp.

Celebrating 10 years of refugee resettlement

UNHCR: An Appeal for Africa

The High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, called for more attention and help for African nations dealing with new and old displacements.